(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the washing of materials used in the treatment of liquids and particularly to the rinsing of ion-exchange and adsorption materials employed in water purification systems. More specifically, this invention is directed to washing columns for use in association with operating columns which are charged with ion-exchange or adsorption materials and especially to apparatus for use in the rinsing of contaminates from resinous materials employed in ion-exchange process vessels and from adsorption materials utilized in filtration or other similar liquid treatment process vessels. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
While not limited thereto in its utility, the present invention is particularly well-suited for use in the treatment of water. One known water treatment technique is the fixed-bed ion-exchange process wherein the liquid to be cleansed is caused to interact with an ion-exchange material, typically a cation or anion resin or a mixture thereof. Such ion-exchange processes typically provide for regeneration of the ion-exchange material and may include a washing step wherein contaminate particles are rinsed from the ion-exchange material which is subsequently returned to an operating column. Filtration systems which employ an adsorption material in the operating column, and also include a washing column for the adsorption material, are also known.
It has been proposed to provide a level-adjusting device in the operating column of an ion-exchange or filtration process to determine the quantity of ion-exchange or adsorption material to be withdrawn from the operating column for delivery to the washing column. An example of such a level-adjusting device may be seen from published German Patent Application No. 22 46 792. In the apparatus of this application the level-adjusting device is an immersion tube which is introduced into the end of the operating column, the depth of immersion determining the volume of ion-exchange or adsorption material to be drawn off. An alternative technique, disclosed in German Patent No. 22 25 682, utilizes a distributor for the inflowing untreated water as the level-adjusting device. Such a water distributor is funnel-shaped and the space in the column thereunder determines the volume or portion of the charge in the operating column which will be drawn off. It is also known to employ a separate measuring column in the system between the operating and washing columns. An example of use of such a separate measuring column being found in German Patent No. 24 03 274.
The above-briefly described prior art techniques and systems are relatively complicated and thus comparatively expensive to physically implement. The technique embodied in the use of a funnel-shaped water distributor has the further disadvantages that it is not applicable to use in a system which does not have an operating column with such a untreated water distributor and a relatively flat bottom.